


Beloved Prince

by Azei



Series: Godly Parenting 101 [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Affairs, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Canonical Character Death, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff, Heavy Angst, be prepared to sob your heart out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-19 05:04:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17595143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azei/pseuds/Azei
Summary: Two brothers, a crown prince and a bastard half-brother, meet in an attempt to understand one another.





	Beloved Prince

Perseus 'Percy' Jackson was the bastard prince of Atlantis.

It wasn't a secret. It hadn't been, not when their lord and king had come home one eve nearly a decade prior proclaiming the birth of his only demigod child. The first demigod of Poseidon in a few centuries. All around the kingdom rejoiced. None were bothered by their king's infidelity. 

After all, if the Queen of Atlantis wasn't, why should they?

It had always baffled Triton how nonchalant his mother always was. She wouldn't even bat an eye and simply would rush up to her husband and celebrate with him, as it had been a good thing that his father had cheated on his mother yet again. 

And he didn't even know which was worse; the fact his father waited so long in between his affairs making Triton hope it was the last time or how no one seemed to care that it happened.

He didn't know why everyone celebrated another birth of a bastard son to the throne or how the child's birth was technically illegal and thus a crime. They went about their days, uncaring of his growing dilemma and unease of the situation. 

Triton, as heir to the throne, was often filled with jealousy and anger which he tried to keep on a leash but sometimes...sometimes when he watched from behind the pillars of the throne room as his father and mother watched over the bastard, when he saw how much pride and joy radiated from his father as he talked about Percy and couldn't ever remember a time when his father was like that with him, when he remembered the lonely nights with his mother as his father ran off gallivanting with mortal woman...he couldn't quite keep it in.

He wasn't quite as loved his bastard half-brother, not as admired nor seen in awe. Percy was the hero everyone in the kingdom wanted. He was a dashing young man of considerable charm. He had a perfect princess girlfriend, _a forbidden love,_ as the naiads and mermaids whispered and giggled to one another. He was a prince who fought for the gods and won against monsters, gods and titans alike.

Percy was the perfect Prince Charming and Triton was not.

Triton was respected, but he was feared. He was a prince, but not the hero they all wanted, a warrior who used words and underhand tactics to secure the protection and victory of his people.

He was heir to the throne of Atlantis, but unmarried and childless, never taking a bride of his own and letting his heir and only child be killed by the sworn enemy of their lord and King. He was the crown prince but he wasn't the one his people wanted.

His people wanted Percy, someone who would never be heir because he himself turned down immortality and would continue to do so as long as his girlfriend remained mortal. Triton had no doubts that if Percy were to become a god right then and there before the suns light could even rise, his father would have already named Percy his heir.

Triton knew this. And he also knew that if this were to happen, not a single one of his subjects would speak out against it. In fact, he was willing to bet his place as heir himself that they would even be celebrating.

He was jealous. He was angry. He was resentful. And most of all, he was _hurt_. 

Because Perseus 'Percy' Jackson was the _beloved_ bastard prince of Atlantis. 

And Triton was the unwanted heir to the throne.

 

-

 

Triton watched from across the busy New York street as cars zoomed by and the life and sounds of the city assaulted his ears. He and his half-brother were truly the opposite in every way. Percy grew up on an island where the nearest source of salt water was miles away. The so-called Hudson 'river' was polluted and murky, it could kill even the river naiads. Atlantis wasn't like that. 

Atlantis was stationed at the bottom of the sea, hidden from the mortals view and surrounded by the cleanest water on earth. Its waters were crystal clear and every time he returned from outside of the kingdom, he felt like the water was hugging him, wrapping him in its warm embrace, almost as if Atlantis and the ocean herself were welcoming him back into her gentle embrace.

He couldn't even feel her presence here, it was simply too polluted. In Atlantis, her presence was always with him, a figure in the back of his mind, a part of him. Without it, being so far from her...it was unsettling. And the noise...it was so loud and disruptive. Back home, it was quiet. It was simple and he found himself trapped in the memories of Pallas, he could hear her laugh so clearly...this...this was just unsettling. He absentmindedly started to play with the necklace around his neck, hiddenly beneath his clothes on a long golden chain.

He had taken on his mortal form, one that not even the other gods had seen. After all, he never had a reason too. He never went to the mainland, they had made it clear centuries ago that they had no intention of worshipping him and so he never found a reason to go above water. He never married, never had demigod children and after a lifetime of watching his fathers infidelity to his mother, he didn't plan on it any time soon.

Triton shook his head as he gazed at the demigod across the street, sitting on the bus bench headphones in his ear, backpack slung over one shoulder and leg bouncing in an endless stream of uncontained energy. Triton took in the messy untamed black hair and the startingly sea-green eyes, the roman features and a swimmers body. If he had any doubts before that this was the bastard Percy Jackson, he had no doubts now.

He looked so much like their father it was unsettling.

When he had talked to Aunt Hestia, she had remarked how much Percy resembled Poseidon, he could almost pass as his twin. She had told him that when he had walked into the throne room she would've thought it was Poseidon if her brother wasn't already sitting a few dozen feet from her. He hadn't believed her at the time but maybe he should've given her more credit.

Triton hadn't realized how intently he was staring at Percy because one moment he was in his own world and the next he froze, body tense and leg coming to a stop as he slowly lifted his head and looked Triton in the eye. He watched as the demigod packed his earbuds away and hesitantly made his way over to Triton, coming to a stop beside him and once he had, the two fell into a tense silence, one daring the other to speak first.

"When Aunt Hestia said you looked as if you were our father's twin, I didn't believe her. However, it seems I owe her an apology." Percy didn't speak, he merely quirked an eyebrow in his direction and his sea-green eyes focused on Triton intently.

"You can take a guess. I won't be offended if you get it wrong." Triton told him. 

"...how did you kno-?"

"The look in your eye. Father gets the same exact look in his."

The two fell into a tense silence as they walked away from the busy streets of New York and into the quiet, peaceful scenery of Central Park. They continued to walk for some time, Triton taking the lead as he and Percy strolled through the park before finding a bench and taking a seat on the wooden bench.

The two settled into their respective seats and it was silent for a few more minutes as Percy continued to think over all of their father's children. "...you're Triton, aren't you?" the young demigod finally guessed.

"Hmm, not bad, I thought it would've at least taken you two more tries."

"I don't mean any disrespect, but why are you here Lord Triton?"

Triton was silent for a few moments, why was he here? He didn't even know himself, but this morning, he had gotten a feeling and found himself wandering the streets of New York in search of Poseidon's only living demigod.

"I'm afraid I don't quite know myself...maybe to see my father's favourite son...see Atlantis's favourite prince...you can take your pick, it doesn't matter to me."

"I'm sorry, but ' _favourite son' 'favourite prince'_? What are you talking about?" Percy stared at him, confusion clear as day in his sea green eyes and Triton let out a little laugh as he stared at the youngest prince.

"Oh gods above and below, I don't know if that makes me hate you more or not!"

"What do you mean?"

"Please don't tell me you really are so ignorant to the signs. Did you not really know?"

"Know what? You're making no sense Lord Triton!"

Triton turned and looked his half-brother in the eye, eyes unblinking and face emotionless, "You, Percy Jackson, are our father's favourite son. And Atlantis's chosen prince. If you had chosen immortality, I have no doubt my father would have named you his heir and not a single soul in Atlantis would protest. They love you Perseus, far more than me."

"What! Why would they...? I don't understand! Your Poseidon's firstborn, his heir, you're a god! And I'm...I'm just me. A demigod. I'll be dead by 40 if I'm lucky and at the very least I won't make it to my 21st birthday. I'm a demigod, I'm impulsive, I couldn't even tell the difference between Charon and Chiron! I'm a nobody, you're the Prince of Atlantis."

"You are so much more than that Perseus. I have watched my father for centuries, I have seen his infidelities and his other children and wondered how anyone in Atlantis could be okay with it, especially my own mother. It's plagued me for many years, the fact that he seems to radiate more love and joy for his other children than that of his own with my mother. I've felt jealousy, anger and resentment for years and it has not alleviated in the thousands of years since I first felt it." He admitted.

"My people don't want me, they want Perseus; the hero, the prince, slayer of monsters and bane of the gods and titans themselves. They want the prince who looks as handsome as his father, the one who has a perfect princess of his own and is so noble and loyal he turns down immortality for his mortal kin. They want the real prince charming, not me."

"But that doesn't make sense! You're a great ruler, you're respected, a true king knows when to fight with words rather than weapons, there's nothing wrong with you! What could they possibly have against you?" his half-brother asked, disbelief painted as clear as the waters of Atlantis across his tanned face.

"They respect me, yes, but out of fear. I am a child of the rulers of the sea, I am as temperamental as my father yet I never allow my emotions to show, I never wear my heart on my sleeve as our father does. They are unaccepting of my underhand tactics and my choice to wield my words as a weapon. I...am odd to them." Triton paused as he stared out into the park, watching as the light gently streamed its rays through the leaves of the great trees that surrounded them.

Percy was silent for a moment, which suited Triton all the same, he had time...

"...you're fathers firstborn, his true heir. They can't take that away from you, no matter how hard they may try. You're still the crown prince of Atlantis, I'm the bastard son, I have no claim." Percy quietly admitted, the resolved in his sea green eyes hardening.

"Ahhh, yes the true heir. The funny thing about politics and royalty and all that goes with it...I can be skipped over. They can give the crown to one of my other siblings, say the demigod hero my father sired or any of my other siblings, bastard or not."

"How? How can they do that to you?"

"...Perseus, tell me, do you know what makes me different from all the other gods and goddesses?" Triton let his question sink in as he fiddled with his thumbs, gaze starring at the scenery around him as his half-brother thought.  

"Well?"

"...you don't have a wife. It never even mentions a lover. Just a child, a daughter, your heir, and she died a long time ago, killed by Athena...her name, it was-"

"Pallas," Triton interrupted softly.

"So, you mean to tell me that because you never wed and your heir died, they can overthrow you? That's stupid! It's not like you're incapable of having more childre-!" Percy froze as he caught himself, realization dawning in his eyes.

"...you chose not to have more, didn't you? It wasn't that you couldn't, but you just didn't want too."

Triton reached behind his head and unlocked the chain before he brought it forwards and simply stared at it. It was on a long golden chain and on it was a simple ornament. It shined in the light, shaped like a guitar pick and such a brilliant pattern that Percy felt like he was staring at the night's sky when he looked at it.

"Pallas...she was my world...she was the apple of my eye and she was far too kind for this world...she was so patient, so forgiving, so gentle...she would just brighten up my whole world when she smiled. And for all the achievements, titles and prizes I've received over the years, not a single thing could ever come close than to that of Pallas. I would give it all just to have her back in my arms again." 

Percy looked at the necklace and realized with a sudden thought that it wasn't just a memento, it was a scale. A mermaid's scale. 

"Tell me about her, please?"

"She looked like her mother, long black tresses that flowed gracefully in the water, her tail was like the night's sky and her smile...there is nothing like it in the world. Her laugh...it was the greatest thing I've ever heard...when I first held her in my arms, I was so afraid I'd hurt her, she was just so tiny and frail...and when she opened up her big eyes, so bright and such an intense silver, it rivalled the moon itself. And I knew right then and there that as long as she smiled and was happy, I would be content." A single tear ran down his cheek and Percy stared down at the scale.

"After her...death...you chose not to have any more children...was she the reason?" he asked softly.

"I...I just couldn't. It hurt too much, it still hurts and when they suggested I should sire another heir...I don't even know what happened, I felt sick to my stomach, my head swam and my heart aches and it hurts... _so bad_! I feel like it was ripped out of my chest and its... its just...so much ** _pain_**. How could I even think of that? They acted like she was replaceable, okay? But she's not, she'll never be! To them, she was just an heir...like she didn't matter, but she did! She mattered...she was _my_ little girl, my _daughter_ , my **everything**! "

"...is that what love's supposed to feel like? Pain? If so, I don't wanna love anymore, I don't wanna feel it, I don't wanna give myself the opportunity to be hurt again...not like that...never again...what right did it have to make me feel like this? To feel so helpless, so insignificant, so empty, s-so **_mortal_**...I-i just don't want to feel anymore. I can't move on and I don't think I'll ever be able to...because she's gone and nothing can ever change that and I know that... _so why does it hurt **so much**?_" 

The two brothers sat in silence; the elder's shoulders shook as sobs racked his body and tears spilled silently from his eyes, the younger sat in peaceful silence, never touching but close enough to offer comfort for a pain he could never imagine.

 

-

 

Perseus 'Percy' Jackson was the bastard prince of Atlantis.

And Triton was proud to call him his brother.


End file.
